PRESS DIGEST- British Business - April 19

The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

* Tata Steel has appointed Standard Chartered PLC to help it to sound out possible buyers for its loss-making British division after formally kicking off a sales process for Port Talbot and other steelmaking sites. The Indian company, which has close ties to Standard Chartered in India, has asked the bank to work with KPMG, the auditor, to identify a potential acquirer, especially among Chinese steelmakers. (bit.ly/23UszyT)

* Profits at Morgan Stanley halved in the first quarter, in the latest sign of strife on Wall Street and the City for "bulge bracket" banks. The bank admitted that its trading and investment banking businesses had taken a hit from market volatility early in the year and a dearth of companies coming to the market. (bit.ly/1WC5ezY)

The Guardian

* George Osborne has said the British government would lose 36 billion pounds in net tax receipts, equivalent to 8 pence on the basic rate of income tax or 7 pence on VAT, if the UK leaves the EU and negotiates a bilateral trade agreement with the bloc. (bit.ly/1qTa4N1)

* Veolia Environnement SA, the rubbish collection and road sweeping company, has vowed to ensure that 10 percent of new recruits come from marginalised groups - including army veterans, ex-offenders, long-term unemployed and the homeless. (bit.ly/1qTX2yN)

The Telegraph

* Tata Steel has appointed a new chief executive for its British steel operations as it battles to sell the business, which is losing as much as £1m a day. Bimlendra Jha, an executive committee member of Tata Steel Europe, will take up the role reporting to Hans Fischer, who heads the company's steel operations across Europe. (bit.ly/1pcBAne)

* British Gas owner Centrica PLC has attempted to shrug off a sharp drop in customer numbers, setting out plans to fight back with a range of new tariffs. Britain's biggest energy supplier disclosed it had lost 224,000 customer accounts in the first three months of the year. (bit.ly/1WC5aAj)

Sky News

* Britain's biggest payday lender has shelved a plan to sell its German online payments business after securing funding to help accelerate the transformation of its core consumer lending operations. Sky News understands that Wonga held preliminary talks with a number of prospective buyers of BillPay, which it acquired in 2013, before a string of crises plunged its future into doubt. (bit.ly/1WBRoh0)

* Judges have overturned government plans to deny legal aid to people who have not lived in the UK continuously for at least 12 months. The Supreme Court announced it is to allow an appeal by campaigners against proposals for a so-called residence test, which they argued restricted access to justice for foreign-born individuals in civil cases. (bit.ly/1VeMPK2)

The Independent

* David Cameron and George Osborne will be accused by one of their closest political allies of treating the British public "like children" who need to be "frightened into obedience" as Conservative Party tensions escalate into open warfare. The Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, will launch an attack on tactics used by the prime minister and chancellor to persuade people to back a "remain" vote. (ind.pn/23UrVRZ)

* MPs are to investigate allegations of illegal weapons sales at British weapons fairs after a judge ruled there was "credible" evidence of wrongdoing at the biggest event in the arms trade's calendar. The House of Commons Committee on Arms Export Control, made up of MPs from all the main parties, will look into the allegations that a judge said had not been "appropriately investigated by the authorities". (ind.pn/1S6MTZX) (Compiled by Sneha Johny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)